1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for locating form slides and particularly to apparatus for positioning a form slide to locate and register the image of the form with respect to another image on an image receiver.
The invention is especially suitable for use in computer microfilmers (COM) for precisely locating a form slide with respect to the data images produced by the computer output microfilmer so as to deliver registered forms images onto a film for recording microfilm records.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Available apparatus may not have the required precision for locating form slide images with respect to data images generated in computer output microfilmers. Registering forms images with computer generated data images requires minute adjustment of the form slide position to the computer output image. Oftentimes, forms subject matter must be located between adjacent characters of computer output data (viz., character splitting). In addition, independent adjustments that allow positioning of the format lines between the lines of characters as well as between adjacent characters is also needed. Rotational adjustments are required to provide parallelism of the character lines with the format lines. In addition, the form slide must be located with precision tolerances along the optical path or axis through the form to adjust the magnification of the form slide image. Practical operation dictates that such precision movements of the slide be rapidly repeatable and readjustable with a minimum of operator effort.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,656; issued: Sept. 5, 1972, images of a form are projected on the back side of a film while computer generated data is projected on the front side of the film. No means are provided for precision location of the form with respect to the computer data such that precise register might be obtained. In other apparatus, for adjusting parts relative to each other, reliance was had exclusively on indicia marks aligned with columns, headings, etc., of the format (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,812) or on locating holes and tabs which fit into each other (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,284). Such arrangements are limited to uses where the forms themselves rather than a form slide image are to be registered with a printing mechanism and, thus, are not adapted for form slide location to precision tolerances in several directions, as is needed in a COM to deliver a registered image of both the form and the computer generated data.